The win over Namajunas, her second after claiming the belt in the inaugural championship bout in December 2014, has been widely panned as one of the least entertaining in UFC title history, as neither woman pressed heavily to engage. In the interim, the Pole reigned for 2 ½ years before a combination of Namajunas, Zhang and Jessica Andrade traded possession of the belt until Esparza became a two-time titleholder. I’m the champion, and I feel she needs to go on my timeline.” Zhang Weili Zuffa LLCĮsparza had regained her belt on May 7 with a decision victory over Rose Namajunas - more than seven years after she lost it to Jedrzejczyk in her first title defense. “I definitely don’t feel like I’m in a position where I should rush just because Weili wants a certain date,” she said. This time, Esparza is taking a different approach to planning the Zhang bout. But in the end, if I’m losing my title, then what was it all worth anyway?” That was a big regret of mine, not letting myself recover a little bit and jumping straight back into it because feeling pressured and wanting to make the UFC happy. “That was my fifth fight in eight months. “That was honestly a big regret of mine, letting the pressure push me into jumping back so quickly after having gone through so much fighting ‘The Ultimate Fighter.’ ” Esparza said. It’s something she takes to heart now with her second title run. One lesson from her first championship reign, which lasted only three months in the winter of 2015, was to not rush back into the cage too quickly. She cites “nagging injuries, nothing serious” as part of the reason for the delay, allowing time to heal up and be ready. The UFC, Esparza said, has reached out about scheduling her next fight, which she would prefer to take place near the end of 2022. Obviously, if I ended up fighting Weili, I can’t not watch her most recent fight.”
I caught the highlight, and I definitely plan to watch it. We kept trying to buy it, and it wasn’t working. “And then when we did get in, it was really hard trying to load the fight. It actually came on earlier than I expected. Blame that on some relatable technical difficulties. Esparza hasn’t had the chance to watch the entire fight yet, though. 1 contender bout Saturday in Singapore on the UFC 275 main card, knocking out Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the second round.Įsparza saw the highlight-reel KO - a spinning back fist that connected more with her forearm to Jedrzejczyk’s jaw, forcing the ex-champ from Poland to face-plant. The former champion from China decisively won a billed No. “That’s a perfect way to describe it,” the UFC strawweight champion told The Post over the phone Monday.Īnd now, Esparza has the name of the woman she’ll face in her upcoming title defense: Zhang Weili. Safe to say the last month of Carla Esparza’s life has been magical.
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